It was a gloomy and rainy Friday. But nobody could wet the spirit of 800+ guests who gathered at the prestigious Grosvenor House Hotel in park Lane, to celebrate the glamorous 16th Asian Achievers Awards. Celebrities and guests walked down the red carpet as ushers in fancy attires waited to welcome everybody in.

The success of the night was underlined with the incredible £180,000 raised for charity partner Indian Ocean Disaster Relief,which was founded in early 2005 following the devastating tsunami on Boxing Day 2004. In its 16 years, the Asian Achievers Awards has helped to raise millions of pounds for various charities it has supported.

Winners of the awards included, Selva Pankaj , CEO Regent Group, a London-based education skills and training development group ; Manjit Gill, CEO Binti, who runs a social enterprise that works tirelessly for women's causes in India and Africa; Paralympian, Ryan Raghoo, a long jumper who suffers from cerebral palsy; and Lord Naren Patel KT who was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.